Naruto Team 7: Blood on the Ice
by Dunstin
Summary: In a classic Team 7 adventure, what starts as a minor issue begins to threaten the entire continent. Naruto and his friends must travel to the Spartan-like Land of Ice to uncover not only a deadly revolution , but conspiracies both within and outside Konoha itself.
1. S1 Chapter 1

**Welcome to the next installment in my Team 7 adventures. This follows the canonical plotline set by the anime, with made up places and characters of my own invention that will soon be introduced to you. This is merely an interpretation of one of the many missions Naruto and his friends would have gone while they were still together. To give you an idea in terms of time, this takes place in between the "Search for Tsunade" and the "Sasuke Retrieval" Arcs. **

**I will sometimes make references to things in the anime, including movies or filler arcs that you might not have seen. With that in mind, I will sometimes leave "*" after a name or place, with a footnote/explanation of what it is and where it comes from at the end of the chapter.**

**No idea how long this will go on, but I plan on three seasons. So let's go from there.**

XXX

**Naruto**

** Konohagakure, Training Ground C**

There had not been a day as sunny as it was in sometime. Most of the people had retreated into their houses and apartments to escape the sun, while the patrolling guards along the wall clustered under roofed towers.

In the training crowds, Naruto Uzimake held the shuriken star in his right hand, sweat beading down his forehead. He was in firm concentration, his eyes closed. His body was positioned right in front of the large tree. Unfortunately, the shade was shifted in the opposite direction, leaving him exposed to the heat.

But he would not allow the weather to throw him off. Real shinobi didn't have time to let that happen.

His chakra coagulated, and he felt it reach the pinnacle of control. He snapped open his eyes and threw the shuriken with determination at the tree. It was going on a dead-on trajectory, aimed to pierce the tree easily. But now it was time to experiment-

**"Shuriken Shadow Clone Technique!" **He focused on using his chakra to replicate the metal shuriken, to multiply one into ten. It wasn't supposed to be much different from the Shadow Clone Jutsu, which he already mastered beyond many experienced jonin.

But it was still an A-rank jutsu, and his chakra control and manipulation wasn't... well, renowned.

"Come on!"

A puff of smoke. Naruto blinked, disbelieving. _Did I do it?_

Two shuriken struck the tree, one, the original, embedding itself into the trunk, while the other struck the oak harmlessly and bounced off it.

His face dropped, and he sat down onto the ground, exhausted. "That's enough training for one day..."

Above him, there was a snort of deriscive laughter. Surprised, Naruto jumped to his face and looked into the thick of the woods, looking for the intruder. He would recognize that laughter from anywhere...

"Alright, Shikamaru, how long have you been watching?"

"Long enough to see that you've been stubborn enough to try that same jutsu for over two hours in this blasted weather." Shikamaru Nara detached himself from the tree trunk he had been resting against and dropped down into the clearing. He was a good friend of Naruto's and one of the unofficial "Konoha Twelve," the close-knit group of genin. His intelligence and strategic insight was high for his age, rivaled only by some of the top jonin of the land.

They were contrasting figures, with Shikamaru's intelligence and laziness countered by Naruto's foolishness and determination. Nevertheless, they were good friends.

Shikamaru sipped some water he was carrying around, and Naruto eyed it enviously. However, the Nara Clan youth drained it with no qualms. "Well, as you might've imagined, I don't normally spend two hours of my day just watching you train, no matter how amusing it was."

Naruto rolled his eyes. "Then what is it that you wanted?"

"Not what I wanted; what the Hokage wanted. She asked me deliver a message to all members of Team 7 that she wanted you guys in her office at 3:00 PM today. Looks like you guys just got picked for a mission." He shielded his eyes with a lanky arm. "Can't say I would want a mission in this heat, though. Rotten luck for you. Not even a cloud to look at-"

"What time is it now?"

"Oh, right, that's why I jumped down. It's, uh..." He stole a look at his watch. "Now?"

XXX

**Kakashi**

**Konohagakure Hokage's Office**

He had of course been notified of the impending mission much earlier. He had already been given a quick briefing on it all.

It was not one he was looking forward to.

Normally it was he that was always late to these sort of things. He spent most of his days in idle recollection at the memorial of fallen shinobi in the main training grounds, where he looked upon the names of his fallen friends and comrades. Hours upon hours in lost thought and memories.

But today demanded his attentions. He stood impatiently outside the Fifth's doors, waiting for Naruto. Behind him, Sasuke Uchiha and Sakura Hurano also stood by, waiting for Naruto. His team was one of the best genin squads in the village, a fine trio of youth that had overcome challenge after challenge from day one. Their pact was strong, perhaps even family-like. Nothing had stopped them yet, and it was perhaps that successful reputation that had allotted to this moment.

_Maybe it's like one of those "to much of a good thing" problems. It fits the bill, at any rate._

The familiar sound of running feet began to echo down the corridor. Kakashi turned, his one visible eye half closed in the comfortable laziness his team was used to seeing. He did not want to start to worry them even before they had been told what the mission was.

Best to start off easy. "You're late," Kakashi said calmly. "What kept you?"

Naruto heaved out a reply. "I was busy training... got the message late... ran... hey guys!" Despite his obvious exhaustion, he still flashed a smile at his friends. Sasuke gave a noncommittal shrug of shoulders, the best reply Naruto would get from the quiet Uchiha. Sakura on the other hand gave him a kind-hearted wave and returned his smile. "Hey, Naruto, we were starting to get worried!"

A real lazy feeling snuck into Kakashi's eye. _She hasn't mentioned Naruto at all since she got here. All she's been doing is trying to talk to Sasuke... to no avail, just like every time. _Still, he had the courtesy to not say this aloud. Sakura has actually been trying to be more open and happy around Naruto for reasons unknown to Kakashi, but this heightened amount of cementing the team together was nothing to complain about.

"Alright, now that we're all here, let's go in, shall we?"

They all nodded, and Kakashi rapped his knuckles on the door. Inside, he heard Shizune call, "Enter!"

The four of them stepped into the Fifth Hokage's office. It was somewhat spacious, and not a place many shinobi got to see. Standing next to the big wooden desk was Shizune, the Fifth's assistant and her friend, with the old pig Tonton nestled in her arms. Seated behind the desk itself, with stacks of papers shouldered to one side, was the Fifth Hokage herself, Tsunade of the legendary Sannin.

She raised an eyebrow at them. "Better late than ever, I suppose?"

Kakashi rubbed the back of his neck in embarrassment. "My apologies, Madame Hokage. Won't happen again."

She nodded her acknowledgment, then took on a brisker tone. "As Shikamaru no doubt told you, Team 7 is being assigned a new mission-"

"Where?" Naruto interrupted. Tsunade gave him a steel hard look that immediately made the young genin shit his mouth. Inwardly, Kakashi sighed. _He's growing in every place except maturity._

"Yesterday, we received an emissary from the Land of Ice. They are a relatively unknown agent- to the public."

Sasuke cocked his head. "To the public?"

The Fifth nodded. "The Land of Ice, along with its neighbor the Land of Tunnels, are the continents most important mining countries, each of them having an industry enough to rival the Land of Earth. They supply a rare crystal called-"

"How come Sasuke gets to talk!" Naruto grumbled aloud. Kakashi put a silent hand on the boy's shoulder in hopes of quieting him with just a touch. Again, Naruto accepted it, though his face retained its annoyed look.

"A rare crystal called Hellfire Crystals," Tsunade continued, eyeing Naruto critically. "They are highly valued both monetarily and as components for ninja tools, such as kunai. Up until recently, they-"

Kakashi was getting fed up with the explanation. This was what he had been told already, and he wanted to cut to the chase; that Team 7 was unfit for the mission. "Until recently, we were their chief importer and trade partner, making high business. Now, the trade has slowed to a crawl and our economy will soon begin to see the effects-"

"I'm talking here, Kakashi," The Fith cut in, annoyed. "Allow me to-"

"-in which the Land of Ice itself has presented that they are under terrorist attack," Kakashi continued doggedly. "Whereupon they've sent an emissary inviting Konoha to help settle the issue. No other information has been given-"

"Kakashi, be quiet!" Tsunade said angrily. "I'll have you-"

"-except that the attacks are threatening the relatively new government, making the political situation fragile as well, yet we insist upon sending an underage squad into this _deathtrap_-"

"That's enough, Kakashi!" she shouted, standing up from the desk. "Stand down-"

"-in which I respectfully ask Madame Hokage to decline Team 7 being sent on this mission," he concluded at last, looking her straight in the face with cold determination. He ignored the shocked looks of the rest of his team. Never had he asked for them to forfeit a mission. Yes, he had acknowledged when they might be in over their heads, but it had never come to him actually shouting down the Hokage. They had never seen anything like it."

The Fifth returned his cool look, the cogs in her mind turning as she pondered his request. Whether Kakashi liked it or not, she could send them on it anyway.

_But she must realize that it'd be insane to send a genin squad out over there. It's across half the continent! And the situation there is on the brink of total collapse... it's just to risky. _He swallowed down a burst of emotional pain. _And I won't be looking at new names carved into the memorial._

"Your request tells me a number of things, Kakashi," she said at last. "It tells me that you obviously think your team is ill-prepared for a mission of this scale, which has been labeled as _B-Rank._" She allowed that to soak in. He stared her down, but inside he was feeling highly embarrassed. Team 7 had done several B-ranked missions in the past, had gone on ahead to progress to a few A-rank. "This tells me that you have not been training them enough, and that your duties as a sensei to these students are slipping."

She gave a sigh, gave all of their disturbed faces a quick reviewing. "You know I don't want to, but this mission _must _be a success, not only because the fee being presented is triple the usual, but because it will be relatively easy. It is simple detective and patrol routine in a foreign land, where you will be perfectly safe under their protection. The Land of Ice has some of the best shinobi in the continent, I'm not afraid to say it." She picked a paper off one of the stacks and scribbled down some notes onto it. "If this mission is a failure, I will have to find you a new sensei."

Naruto slammed an angry palm down onto her table in conjunction with Sauske's surprised cough and Sakura's gasp. "You must be joking, Granny Tsunade!" he shouted. "Kakashi sensei is the best teacher in Konoha, and you know it! Taking us away from him will only harm our skills!"

"You have been stationary in Konoha for three weeks," the Fifth retorted coldly. "During that time, almost every other genin squad has gone out on various leveled missions _four _times. They are progressing much faster than the rest of you. You are training individually while the other groups have their sensei actively giving them field experience. Kakashi has done no such thing."

She put her face in her hands, where she could not look at Naruto's red face and Kakashi's paling one. "My ultimatum is that you succeed in this mission to show you are keeping up with your minimum squad performance." She handed Kakashi her notes, which included what she had just said and a more detailed explanation of the mission. He took it in a clammy hand.

"You know I don't want to do this," she repeated again, sincerely. "I'm sorry."

Shizune awkwardly stepped forward. "Um... you are dismissed. You may head out to the Land of Ice right now."

XXX

**Naruto**

When they were out of ear-shot of the Fifth's office, he exploded. "I cannot believe Granny Tsunade just told us all of that!" he shouted at them. "How can she think that breaking us away from Kakashi sensei will be better? It doesn't make any sense at all!"

Sasuke actually replied. "She made a point, though. All of us have been training independently for the past few weeks, which is fine for our own purposes. However, we need team building exercises as well. Something which has been in short supply." He said all this in his calm tone, but he casted Kakashi a sidelong glance as he did so.

Their sensei did not look back. He clutched the documents tightly. "I have no way to defend myself," he said at last. "The Hokage was right, I have been ignorant to you guys, and there is no reason for it. I have not been performing as a proper sensei should."

_No! They can't be agreeing with this! Kakashi sensei is a great teacher! _"But when we have been together, we've learned a lot and progressed together! We needed the time to train independent of each other, to hone our own skills!"

"You need to be learning how to work your skills as if you were in a team," Kakashi replied heavily. "On every mission you do, there will be times you act alone, yes, but the majority of it is you working with a squad. I have been teaching you to be solitary, not as a...group...?"

His voice trailed off as he looked ahead, his eye widening in confusion. Naruto looked away from his sensei down into a trio of people that had appeared to stand in their way as they walked through the village.

"Hi, can we help you?" Sakura asked.

The one in the middle stepped forward, a little shyly. "You are Team 7, yes?" His voice was the perfect blend of curiosity and nervousness. His eyes were ponderous, seeking, and intelligent behind a pair of thin rimmed glasses.

Kakashi sensei, for whatever reason, did not respond. He seemed quite shocked to see this trio of shinobi in their way. Naruto did not understand why. They were dressed in the garb of Leaf chunin, and appeared normal enough.

"We are," Sasuke replied. "What's it to you?"

The middle man, who Naruto took to be their leader, adjusted his glasses. "Well, I've been informed that me and my team are being drafted temporarily to Team 7 in order to help their mission to the Land of Ice. Am I correct in saying that you are on your way now?"

His innocent, curious behavior was smoothly done. He was like a schoolboy who was asking his teacher a question, but unsure of whether he would actually be answered or made fun of. _He could be an actor! _Naruto thought. However, he assumed that the boy was genuine. He was a bit older than Naruto, perhaps being fifteen or sixteen years of age.

"Yes, we're just heading out now," Sasuke answered coolly. His voice held a trace of suspicion. "Let me see your mission confirmation papers."

"Oh, yes! I'm Dossen, by the way," he said as he beckoned to the teammate on the right to give him their papers. "These are my teammates, Sujo and Kogari." The left nodded first, and then the right. Dossen took their confirmation papers and splayed them out for Sasuke to see. "Everything should be in order, I think."

Sasuke evaluated them carefully, and Naruto puzzled as to what he was actually looking for. It was unlikely Sasuke had actually seen a mission order before, and therefore it would just be confusing wording and contracting that made Naruto's head spin.

"Who is this man that signed the order?" Sasuke intoned, pointing at a small signature in the middle of the paper. "I've never seen his name on any confirmation paper before."

Dossen looked taken aback, no doubt not having expected Sasuke to actually know what he was looking at. "Well, I don't want to brag," he said confidently, his voice smoothly shifting from nervousness to bravado. "But this confirmation came from one of the highest figures in Konoha: the Elder Danzo!"

Naruto saw Kakashi's knuckles tighten as the name was said. Naruto had no idea who Danzo was, but if he was an elder, he was just another old geezer who was apart of the Konoha council and worked as an advisor to Granny Tsunade.

"Well, it all checks out to me!" Naruto said jovially, wanting to get past all this boring work. "Welcome to the team, Dossen, I'm Naruto!"

The chunin almost stepped back, alarmed by Naruto's enthusiasm, which was such a distinct change from Sasuke's interrogative tone. However, he quickly recovered, even going on to match his personality. "And me too! I look forward to working with you guys to complete this mission!" His teammates nodded their assent eagerly, smiling generously.

"I've never heard of this Danzo character signing order forms," Sasuke interrupted, much to Naruto's disappointment. "Did he run this through with the Hokage?"

"Of course!" Dossen replied, eyes widening. "It would be improper if she didn't know about any change to the mission!"

"Then why did this Elder Danzo sign it instead of her? And why didn't she mention it to us just five minutes ago?"

Dossen opened his mouth to reply, his eyes going into an annoyed tone, but it wasn't him that replied.

"Let it go, Sasuke, everything checks out," Kakashi said, putting the hand not clutching the documents on the Uchiha's chest, no doubt to restrain any further questions. "Danzo is a high ranking member of our society, and his word is as good as the Hokages. There is no reason to question our friend here any more. We are, after all, a team now. We shouldn't be questioning each other so suspiciously."

The chunin nodded gratefully. "Thank you, Kakashi sensei. They say you always spoke wisely, and now I get to see it first hand!"

Sujo pulled out a map from his knapsack, and Dossen gestured for the others to huddle around it. "The only way to go through the Land of Ice is through the Land of Tunnels; everywhere else is through the mountain range, and that will extend our journey by a good week. My team and I have already charted a good course." He pointed to a small red blip that stood out against a purple line that travelled its way northward, to the Land of Ice. "This dot is a resting place called Heydir Inn. If we leave now and travel fast, we should reach it quickly, and then stay the night.

"This looks like a good five days worth journey," Sakura observed. "You labeled every resting stop along the way?"

"I sure did," Dossen said enthusiastically. "If we're gonna do the job, do it the best we can, right?" He and his team chuckled to themselves.

Sakura nodded, giving the chunin a sort of odd look. "Right. Let's head out, then?"

Sujo folded up the map and put it back. "Yup, let's go."

They ran off to the main gates, where the sun was beginning its descent, signaling the rise of night. Naruto was starting to like Dossen's attitude; it was so similar to his own. Here was a guy who was as eager as he was, as determined. He didn't have care for all the boring preparation, he just wanted to go straight into the action. It was so different from Sasuke's brooding and Sakura's criticizing.

_Here's a team I could enjoy being with! _He immeaditely felt guilt as he took a glance at Kakashi sensie, who had still not regained full color in his face. _What am I saying? Team 7 is where I need to be. We're the strongest genin in all of Konoha, why would I want to leave? Dossen and his friends are cool, but Team 7 is my family, even if we don't get along all the time._

He shook his head as Dossen beckoned for them to head out into the forest. As one, the seven all took off into the trees, leaving the Village Hidden in the Leaves behind to be taken by the night.


	2. S1 Chapter 2

XXX

**Sakura**

**Heydir Inn Lobby **

The inn was a cozy but well sized wooden structure that stood alone in the wilderness. A beaten up path and worn, moss covered sign was the only physically way to know that it even existed along the main road. For this reason, it was no surprise when the elderly couple that owned the inn said that they had the whole place to themselves.

Kakashi gave the owners a sizable fee for the night, then gestured to the stairs. "Naruto, Sasuke and I will take one room, Dossen's team can take another, and Sakura gets one to herself. You guys do the choosing." He tossed three pairs of keys onto the coffee table they were all seated around on the ground floor. "I need some fresh air; I'll be back in some time. And none of you are to leave the Inn, am I clear?" They nodded, and he exited.

She wanted to comfort their sensei, but she could not find the words. The Fifth's words had been true, but she hated seeing Kakashi sensei in such a disgruntled state. Therefore, the adult shinobi left only with a few goodbyes.

Naruto and Dossen were still filled with energy, despite their journey having been a healthy three hours, making them arrive in the thick of night. Even now, the stars blossomed fervently above their heads.

"Team Naruto will take the big suite!" Naruto argued good-naturedly.

Dossen shook his head. "I think we deserve the bigger room. After all, we found this place for us to stay at, didn't we?"

"Well, the bigger the room, the more room for Kakashi's snores to be less harmful to me sleeping. He's not much better than a hippo."

Kakashi sensei most certainly did not snore like a hippo. If anything, Naruto did. But Sakura could see that her teammate was forming a very friendly connection with Dossen and his squad rather quickly, and that they were similar in more ways than one.

_Maybe it's the fact that they haven't failed to shut up since we left the gates. I might just take a leaf out of Kakashi sensei's book and just go out into the woods myself..._

"But Sujo's snores shake the room!"

"That's not true!"

Laughter. "Yeah, yeah, and you didn't wet your sleeping bag that time in the woods either, it was the enemy shinobi who did it for you!"

She put her face in her hands, her eyes peering out in between her fingers as she looked at the room keys.

_Another minute of this and I'll shove it down their throats._

"Alright, Naruto, we'll take the smaller room. Sakura can have the last one." She felt Dossen look at her inquisitively. "I mean, if that's okay with you."

She waved her hand, not really caring, just wanting to have some quiet time. "Yup, it's all fine."

Dossen gave her a strange look, and he said, "Let's head upstairs and unpack everything." But as they headed up the stairs, she heard Dossen's voice trail down the stairs: "How the hell can you like a girl like that, Naruto? She's as cold as ice!"

She could almost hear his shrug. "I don't know, I guess I just deal with it." Then their voices trailed off as they entered the depths of the inn.

There was a deep breath behind her, and Sakura nearly jumped out of the couch, just catching herself in time. Sasuke's quiet and brooding manner had made it hard to tell if he had gone up with the rest of the team or stayed behind with her.

_Stayed behind with me..._

"I thought those losers would never leave," he said. "They were really getting on my nerves."

She gave an exhale of relief. "I'm glad I wasn't the only one."

There was an awkward shuffling of time. Sakura found herself growing red, unsure of what to say. The time and setting was so perfect, being alone with Sasuke, with a warm, rippling fire place and comfortable sitting. Just two friends sitting down, with no interruptions.

Her feelings for Sasuke Uchiha had been seeded in the past, and from that seed the tree of her love for him had grown. Sasuke's cool attitude and being was enough to have half the young female population drool over him, and it was Sakura's luck she had been placed on his team. Despite his attempts to make it clear they were teammates and nothing more, she had always possessed the hope that one day Sasuke would recognize her feelings, and maybe, just maybe, acknowledge her as something more than just a comrade...

"How's your training been going?"

A sad feeling in her stomach. It was just work talk, essentially. She had missed her chance. All Sasuke would initiate in his conversations were about how well he progressed, and about how he wanted Sakura and Naruto to as well. It was all he ever talked about with her... for the few times they did speak.

"It's been going good," she replied, her voice hollow but with a desire to retain happiness. "I've been working more on my taijutsu capabilities. My chakra control is apparently good enough to make hand-to-hand combat more effective for me."

Sasuke nodded, his eyes staring into the flames of the firepit. "It's good to hear you've been keeping up in your training. We all needed to, especially with the Hokage breathing down our necks."

"You don't actually think she'll replace Kakashi sensei with someone else, do you?"

The Uchiha folded his hands above his lips and his elbows came to rest on his knees. It was his signature position for when he was in serious thought and consideration. Sakura felt relieved that beneath Sasuke's cold and sometimes emotionless wall, there had been feelings projected at the whole mess going on.

"I think Lady Tsunade will press upon Kakashi and the team to the point that yes, if she thinks we're doing so bad, then she will find us a new sensei." He withdrew from his position and leaned back, the state of comfort. "Not that it would matter anyways."

It took her a moment to understand his last few words. "I'm sorry, what? What do you mean it wouldn't matter anyways?"

Sasuke froze in place, like a rat caught in a trap. But Sakura had borne no ill intentions in this conversation, she had only wanted to talk. Sasuke had tricked himself. "Sorry, I was thinking of something else," he said easily, but Sakura instantly saw through the lie.

"No, you were serious," she insisted. "What do you mean by it won't matter?"

Sasuke refused to answer, instead just sank further back into the chair he was seated in. He continued to look into the fire, but he kept his mouth shut. Sakura knew that when he was like this, he would never say a word. And she cared about him to much to actually try and pry an answer from him. She sighed, pulled out her travelling book from her pouch. She knew the conversation, if you could call it that, had ended. The two just sat there awkwardly, both painfully aware each other was there, but intent on isolation.

She fought back a tear, hefted the book to protect her face. _Am I really just that distant from Sasuke? Has all my time spent trying to warm up to him been pointless? Maybe I a just a burden to him, an obstacle that just pesters and pesters. _The more she thought about it, the more she made herself think it was true.

Lost in her own self- damning dilemma, she almost did not hear the door to the inn open. The only sign that it had opened was the cool night air billowing in.

She turned, relieved that Kakashi sensei had returned, which she would gratefully take as an excuse to just go to her room before Sasuke could see what a mess she was becoming. "Welcome back, Kakashi sen-"

It wasn't their sensei, far from it. Three armored men had entered the inn, and were standing right beside the counter.

Looking at her.

A heartbeat passed, and in her mind Sakura immediately knew what was going to happen.

"Sasuke-"

In synchronized movement, each drew kunai. With her sharp eyes, she saw the paper explosive tags around the handle. She had time to open her mouth into an _O _for a scream before they left their owner's hands, and the world became a hot, orange blur.

XXX

**Kakashi**

**Woods Outside Heydir Inn**

He trudged loudly through the thicket of trees, alone, in the cold air. He was alone with his thoughts, to contend with himself, to argue with himself. There was nothing around; the Inn was back several hundred feet. He had been walking for quite some time already, in empty thought. Only now did the cogs turn.

_How can I have been casting such a blind eye to my students? I haven't done one thing to help them in their progression to chunin since the blasted Chunin Exams, and we all know that was a big flop. I thought that they could learn on their own, but the team is already so fragile..._

It was no secret to any member of the team that Sasuke had been branded with a Cursed Seal by Orochimaru during a portion of the Chunin Exams. The already angry, independent Sasuke had now been tripled in his anger and desire for power. If Naruto and Sakura could be office supplies, they would be the thickest glue Kakashi had ever met. Their desire to include Sasuke into their personal lives and feelings was powerful enough that Sasuke, who wanted to act as an anti-magnet, was drawn in anyways. But that bond had started to loosen, as Sasuke had again begun to push himself to heightened limits.

_And then Itachi came back... why now? How can I have been so damned with the best, yet most unstable team in the entire Land of Fire? I just can't understand..._

It was also no secret that Sasuke's previous hatred was created from the slaughtering of his clan by his older brother, Itachi Uchiha. So when Itachi had arrived in Konoha to abduct Naruto for the mysertious Akatsaki, and Sasuke had actually confronted his much more powerful and skilled brother, it had sent Sasuke down a funnel, in which the exit would drop him into power.

Power that was out of his reach while he stayed in Konoha.

Kakashi stopped, rested himself against a tree, his breath leaking out of his mask in the form of cool steam. _I thought that Sasuke could figure out the Curse Mark and his place in the village on his own. I thought Naruto and Sakura would be able to make the team on their own. I thought they wouldn't need me. _He smashed his fist into the trunk of the tree, breaking off a few chunks of loose bark. _How wrong could I have been?_

There was no doubt about it, now. Team 7 was weakening as a group, and it was because he had not stressed the importance of building up the team as a family. More importantly, he had not stressed it enough to Sasuke, the wolf who wanted to leave the pack...

_How wrong could I have been... I've been to focused on the past, spent to much time on that memorial. I needed to be looking to the future with my current family, instead of mourning over those who are long gone. _It sounded so wrong in his mind, but he was growing desperate. He may not have ever truly shown his affection outwardly to his students, but in his heart, they were his new family. He had no one to look for at home, and his friends had all begun to find their own occupations, whether it be love or missions. His students were his home and his friends, and he needed to be with them to nurture that family bond-

_Then what the hell am I doing here? _He slapped his palm to his face. _How can I say I want to build a family bond when I've walked away from them! _He turned around to head back to the inn-

-just in time to see a orange and white explosion spear the night sky, followed closely by its family of smoke.

And the shrill, female scream that signified that its cousin fear was present as well.

XXX

**Sasuke**

**Heydir Inn Lobby**

He was out of the chair the moment the kunai had left their attackers hands. He took Sakura by the shoulders and applied downward force, causing the couch to topple over. He passed over her frightened face and stayed there. Her eyes were closed, caught off guard by their assailants.

The explosive kunai struck the fireplace and exploded, ripping apart the brick and wood of the structure, scattering the flaming logs all around them. Sakura screamed loudly, as her eyes undoubtedly became overwhelmed by the rush of orange light. Deeper within the inn, he could hear yells of panic of confusion from Naruto and Dossen's squad and the owners of the inn.

Before the last flames of the discharge had vanished, he had leap off Sakura and performed the hand signs. **"Fire Style: Fireball Jutsu!" **A ball of his chakra, transformed into flame, billowed form his mouth and struck the unfortunately clustered group of shinobi. They spread apart in a classic Splay and Corner Formation, with each going right, left, and above the flame, and then homing in on the immediate threat: himself.

He stole a look at Sakura. unsurprisingly, she was still on the ground, though he gave her credit for having risen to one knee, trying to blot the smoke out of her eyes.

_Just me then. Good._

He let the Sharingan activate, evaluated his assailants in turn. He got a good look at them as they all suddenly seemed to move in slow motion. They were dressed in a blue and white uniform of sorts, with armored shoulder pads and upper chest plate on top that stretched against their uniformed clothes. It quickly told him that these were not bandits or rogues, but rather an organized group.

Which in the long run meant this was not a random attack, but one with meaning. In the short run, it told him that it would not be such a brief fight.

_The ones coming in on my left and right have kunai drawn, while the one in the middle is coming at me unarmed, which means he's probably an adept taijutsu user. They're expecting me to switch my attention to one to block, and then the other two can get me. That's for a normal ninja with limited vision prowess... but for me..._

He drew out two kunai and spun, concentrating his stamina into both of his legs and his hands. The two ninja on the sides were traveling faster than the one in the middle, and they raised their kunai to strike-

He stopped spinning as the Sharingan told him the perfect time to halt. He held the kunai to the sides of his head and caught both men perfectly, blades clashing against blade. The middle one came shortly after, and again, he approached in slow motion. Before the other two could recover from their shock of being stopped, Sasuke back-flipped backwards, applying special force to his left leg. It struck the incoming unarmed shinobi squarely in his chin, making him fall flat on his back. He finished the flip, taking him away from all three shinobi, having successfully blocked all three of their attacks while managing to deal damage to one of them.

He smirked at their surprised looks. "What, you thought you would just walk all over me?" he asked politely. "If that's what you think, then come and try it again!"

The middle man stood up, rubbing his jaw thoughtfully. He did not look the slightest bit injured, despite that having been one of Sasuke's best kicks. The other two had already recovered. All at once, silently, they all performed the same hand signs in rapid succession.

_I can see what they're doing, it's easy to see! But... they seem familiar, but I can't place them! What jutsu is that?_

**"Ice Style: Air Crystallization Jutsu!"**

The temperature of the Inn dropped dramatically, and Sakura, who had finally gotten to her feet, suddenly breathed in and out sharply. Her breath formed a dense cloud of steam. Out of the corner of his eye, the flaming logs from the destroyed fireplace were instantly extinguished.

Sasuke cocked an eyebrow. "So you made the temperature drop? That's some jutsu! **Fireball Jutsu!" **

The flame left his mouth, but to his shock, his attack ended there. The flames dwindled and died only three feet away from their ejection point, not even coming close to their attackers. Incensed, he applied more chakra, trying to build power into the attack, to increase its heat. The length of the flame billowed out another foot, much to the obvious amusement of the uniformed attacks. However, they still did not say a word.

Finally, Sasuke dropped to one knee, exhausted. It was not so much that the Fireball jutsu was a chakra consuming jutsu, but rather he had spent so _much _chakra in so little time, trying to get his attack to work. In addition, having the Sharingan active took a nice helping of his chakra as well.

Sakura came up beside him. He did not look up, but he heard movement in her hands, and suddenly there was a wall of smoke separating them from their attackers. It shielded them from their view, but at the same time, they could not see Sasuke and Sakura either.

_Clever distraction technique, I haven't seen her use it before. Shame it's not solid, or it would give me enough time to recover-_

She stooped to check him. Her body was shaking from the cold, but she determinedly hoisted him to his feet. "We need to get to the others," she said strongly. "We need backup-"

"I can handle them by myself, I just need a moment."

"We don't have a moment-"

**"Ice Style: Distant Breeze!" **If possible, the temperature dropped even further. Sakura's smoke disbanded as light blue cut through it like a knife, then swept it away. Sakura pulled out a handful of shuriken from her pouch and lobbed it at them, but her hand was shaking so badly that only one actually left her hand at a speed able to be considered dangerous. But the enemy shinobi on the left easily blocked it with his kunai, and Sasuke saw a sudden flash of dark, navy blue on his shoulder. It was in the shape of a kunai as well, but at the end of the handle, there was an a lighter colored blue skull.

Then he lost the glimpse as Sakura collapsed. Sasuke felt his muscles beginning to twitch as well, and he knew that the temperature was so cold that their blood was freezing, making their muscles inflexible and tighten against their will. He managed to shift his shoulder so that he was somewhat elevated on his left arm. His pink-haired teammate had gotten her head up to look over at their assailants.

"Bag them," the middle man said, gesturing towards the two genin. "Then we leave."

"_GET AWAY FROM MY FRIENDS!" _Sasuke felt anger rise up in him. _He's acting only now, right when we're the most defenseless? _He sighed, his emotion subsiding. _I should stop being surprised by his bad tactics._

The ice-wielding shinobi on the left and right swiveled, and they both tossed explosive kunai at the area where Naruto had come from, which was at the top stairs. Naruto flinched in midair as he saw the incoming metal, managed to dodge them by dropping to the ground. Behind him, Dossen and his team were just coming down.

There was a flash as the paper lit, and then exploded as the kunai struck the ceiling above the stairs. There was an almighty crash as the entire ceiling gave way. A bed, a dresser, two tables, and thousands of bits of plaster suddenly clogged the stairs. Naruto was struck by the bed and came tumbling to the ground, where one of the shinobi immediately leaped and pinned him to the ground.

_I can't let them take us, I have to get up and fight. Forget about Naruto and Sakura and the others, it's up to me, just like every other time. _**"F-F-Fire St-t-tyle: Phhhhoen-"**

But he couldn't even finish the hand signs, let alone get the words out. The middle shinobi crouched down and clenched Sasuke's fingers painfully for good measure. "You're a tricky one, aren't you?" he said spitefully. "Didn't know there would be an Uchiha in this group. Say, didn't you lot get wiped out?" He looked back to his teammate, who was uncoiling a length of rope. The man nodded indifferently. "How the hell are you even alive then, kid? Huh? A weak thing like you?" He bodily threw Sasuke to the ground, stood up. "Make sure those other three don't come through."

"Oh, you don't have to worry about them," said a familiar, instantly relieving voice from the doorway. "They aren't really your problem at this point."

Sasuke crinkled his eyes, blinking away small flakes of frost that had been forming from the perspiration around his face. "K-K-Kakashi!"

All three whirled around. They all looked at each other, somehow silently conveyed their thoughts, determining a battle plan just from the looks on their faces.

From behind them, there was a terrific blast, and the dresser and tables disintegrated as they went flying. The bed smoldered on its left side, but still flew away. Dossen and his team barreled down the hallway, turning to face the other trio. "You aren't stopping us that easily!"

Their opponents responded by crashing through the ceiling effortlessly, smashing their way through. Another two crashed informed Sasuke that they had broken through both the second floor and the roof. The final confirmation of their retreat was as the temperature began to warm slightly, equalizing with the outside night air.

Kakashi came to his side while Dossen went to Naruto and his teammates to Sakura. "The damage isn't to bad," he told Sasuke as he made a quick evaluation of his body. "You just need a soup and some blankets to warm up."

"You hooligans aren't getting anything more form us!" came a shrill, elderly voice from the counter. "I told Herbert we should have closed this damn inn, but noooooo, he wanted to still see the shinobi walk by! Well have you had enough of your stupid shinobi now, Herbert!"

"On the contrary, I have to say I quite enjoyed it," came the unexpected reply from the old man called Herbert. "Nothing like a bit of excitement in this boring old life anyways. However, I must ask that you pay for the damages."

"I can take care of it, Kakashi," said Dossen, his voice the perfect negotiator. "Here you are." Sasuke didn't see the amount he offered, but by the cry of surprise in the old woman's voice, it must've been more than the damages.

"We can finally retire!"

"Yeah, but we're keeping this inn open; no way in hell that I'm going to miss out on another ninja battle like that!"


	3. S1 Chapter 3

XXX

**Naruto**

**Land of Fire, Path to Concord**

They left the inn early next morning, mainly because the gaping holes left by the attack had made the weather ultimately no different if they slept inside or out. Sasuke and Sakura were up and ready to go by that time, having been revived by blankets given by the now more than happy innkeeper and his wife.

"They were men from the Land of Ice, there is no doubt," Kakashi concluded when his teammates had finished their explanations of the attack. "Not only the fact they utilized the jutsu of that land, but your description meets the picture I've been given... though I have no idea what to make about that body armor. It's rather uncommon for any shinobi to wear heavy combat gear like that."

"I thought the shinobi from the Land of Lightning wore body armor," Sakura argued. "And I've heard the samurai form the Land if Iron do to."

"They wear very light combat armor. As for the Land of Iron, their style of fighting revolves around swordsmanship; they naturally wear heavy armor to minimize damage from anothers swords. Foraverage shinobi to wear armor like that, however… is relatively unheard of. All I can say is s that it's strongly militaristic, like the Land of Snow under Doto*****. But the blue marking on their shoulder is a mystery for me. I don't know what to make of that."

Naruto was somewhat ignoring this conversation. He was deep in his own thoughts. _Those three guys were seriously about to kidnap Sakura and Sasuke… why did Dossen want to restrain me?_

The trio of chunin and Naruto had immeaditely gone for the stairs the moment the explosive kunai had gone off. However, instead of jumping straight in to help, Dossen had restrained Naruto from joining in. The battle had gone badly for Sasuke and Sakura, making Naruto desperate and angry to join in, but Dossen has been adamant, not letting him go until Naruto had snuck his way around his arm and forced himself into the fight; obviously to no effect.

_If they had just let me go in, we could have beaten them back! Why did they hold me back, and almost let Sasuke and Sakura get taken away…_

Dossen and his team was a bit behind them, having pointed the group town their trail. They would reach the border between the Land of Fire and Land of Tunnels by midday. The small country of Tunnels was the only way into the Land of Ice without having to trek unnecessarily over the mountain ranges. Besides, it would give them a good idea on what the neighboring country felt about their close friend.

Naruto dropped back, began to walk with them. "Hey, do you mind if I talk to you guys about something?"

Kagori gave a concerned look. "Sure, what's wrong?"

"Well... I wanted to know why you held me back. Why you didn't let me go out and help Sasuke and Sakura." He tried not to make it sound aggressive, but he could find no other way to say what he wanted. "They almost got captured, and if we had all just gone in to help, that wouldn't have happened."

Dossen ran a hand through his hair and exhaled. "I'm sorry if that's how it seemed, Naruto. I was just trying to evaluate our opponents. You know, you've developed quite a reputation in the village for simply just charging into things," he added, throwing him a sly look. "Sasuke is the strategist; he has the Sharingan to let him evaluate his opponents. Because we don't have that power, we take longer to discern what an enemies abilities are. Running into a fight may work for you, but not for the rest of us."

Naruto opened his mouth to retort about this rumor, but he closed it as Lady Tsunade's words of "isolation" rolled through his mind. "Maybe Granny Tsunade was right, maybe we have been training to independently," he murmered to himself. "Instead of working as a team, I always go charging in without my teammates consent. We should be forming a plan when instead I'm off on my own..."

Soji placed a hand on his shoulder. "We hate to just get up in your face about this, but we're just following the shinobi way. Maybe mediate on it when we reach Concord?"

"Concord?"

Kakashi curled his neck to look back at them. "Concord is a 'free-city'****** on the border between the Land of Fire and the Land of Tunnels. That means it's under neither countries jurisdiction, but the Land of Tunnels has mainly taken over it anyways as their chief trading town." He held up a map for Naruto to see and pointed at it. The purple lines Team Dossen had made that designated their path ran through the town. "It's our next stop, and we have an informant I'll meet there."

XXX

**Sasuke**

**Land of Tunnels, Concord Market District**

His immediate thought was that they were going to walk into a trap. The ease of which they got past the border guards, who had not even asked for identification, told him they must have been bribed to let them through. But it slowly dawned on him that it would be completely ridiculous to bribe the entire guard force.

Because they were all casual, inattentive. They hardly gave the foreign shinobi a second look. In fact, most of the city was the same. It was bustling and lively, full of commerce and prosperity. All the citizens looked content and talked jovially with each other. It was the perfect peaceful setting. _And they're shinobi too... how pathetic._

"There hasn't been any conflict involving the Land of Tunnels for some time," Kakashi said when he had evaluated Sasuke's response. "They stayed out of the last shinobi war, and managed to escape any damage from the Land of Ice's recent revolution. Peace has breed a soft-hearted generation."

"Have they not been affected by the attacks and break in trade with the Land of Ice?" Sakura asked. "They are right next to each other, after all."

"Good question: surprisingly, no, there hasn't been any break in day to day life. I mean, just look around. This is their chief trading city, and I don't see anything unusual-"

"Didn't you say they mined a special crystal, Kakashi sensei?" Naruto interrupted. He was looking inquisitively at the stalls in the market, the second one they had passed. Further back, the odd trio of chunin had stopped to barter with a merchant over provisions for the rest of the journey."

"Yes, Hellfire Crystals. It's what they're famed for. Why do you ask?"

"What do they look like?"

"Big, gray, thick," Kakashi said lazily, looking at a row of novels inquisitively. "What are you trying to get at?"

"I haven't seen any merchant stall selling them."

Sasuke pasued. Come to think of it, he hadn't seen any big, gray, thick crystals either. He had been observing the stalls as well, had seen various fruits, candies, toys, furniture, diamonds and other precious minerals. But no gray crystal that Kakashi had just identified.

"I haven't seen any either," Sakura threw in. "Is there a regulation on selling them in the open market?"

"Not that I know of," Kakashi said, looking disinterested but his voice catching on to the situation. "Maybe this nice atmosphere is hiding something..."

"Hey, what are we standing around for?" Dossen and the others walked over.

Kakashi was facing away from them, while the genin faced him. Sasuke saw the slight curt nod, and then Kakashi turned. "I was just giving them instructions to blend into crowd, so as to not drag suspicion to them. We are, after all, looking for trouble in the Land of ice, not Tunnels."

Dossen smiled brightly. "That's good; this city is really hospitable, isn't it? But what about you?"

"I'm about to go see my informat," Kakashi said, in equal happiness. Sasuke suppressed a grin. _He really knows to fit into the situation, even without the Sharingan active. _"As for you three, it's logical you follow Team 7's example and just look like simple travelers. Explore the city, do whatever. We'll meet back here in three hours time to head out to our next destination, agreed?"

There was a flicker in Dossen's eyes, as if he could see through Kakashi's intentions. However, it passed over just as quickly. "Sounds good to me. See you in three." Dossen's trio went off to the closest stall possible, and though the merchant asked them if he could be of service, they offered no response.

They were waiting for Kakashi to leave himself.

_These guys... what is it about them? They just try to hard to be all chummy, but their hiding something. _He looked over at Naruto and Sakura. _Naruto is obviously clueless about this, he'd just as well be their new best friends. But Sakura seems to be catching on to; they're not to be trusted. I don't know who this Danzo guy is or why he sent more shinobi with us, but it just smells of trouble. I have to stay vigilant, or the entire mission could be ruined._

"Alright, guys, blend in." Kakashi looked back at them again, a smile beneath that elusive mask. But in his eyes, Sasuke could read what he wanted.

"Will do," Sasuke replied. Kakashi gave a friendly nod, then jumped off and was gone. "Come on, guys, I saw a nice looking stall over here."

XXX

**Naruto**

**Land of Tunnels, Concord Market District**

When they had gone some distance, he finally burst out: "What the heck was all that? Why didn't Kakashi sensei just tell them to come with us?"

Sasuke gave a sigh. "Naruto, can you really be _this _ignorant?"

He blinked. "What are you talking about?"

"I don't really know myself, but there's something wrong with Dossen and his friends. I can't figure it out yet, but it's something to do with this Danzo character that's gotten Kakashi riled up. And if he's worried, then we need to be to. These three are just trouble waiting to happen."

_No, what are they talking about? They can't be serious about this, we've barely met them? _"They seem perfectly fine to me."

Sakura shook her head. "Because they match their personalities to whoever's around them. Naruto, they're trying to hard to simple meld with us; it's unnatural. They're shady and have some hidden purpose being with us."

But he shook his head adamantly. "No, I'll prove you guys wrong. They're on our side, they'll show it when the time comes."

Sasuke gave another sigh of exasperation. "We don't have time to deal with you being stubborn. But I know that you don't want to walk the streets of Concord for three hours; and you know that's exactly what Kakashi _didn't _want us to do."

Naruto smiled, glad they were on the same page about something. "Yeah... the fact that the Hokage stressed the importance of the Hellfire Crystals, but we don't see any of them in the local market where they're _traded... _it's got suspicious written all over it."

"I think we need to stay together and look for any clues as to where the Crystals have gone," Sakura said, and the other two nodded their confirmation.

"If they're not in the marketplace being traded, then where would they be?" Sasuke asked.

"In storage?" Sakura suggested after a moment. "Being kept away from the public in a safe place?"

"Not a bad place to start," Naruto said. _Finally, some action we can get into! _"Let's find a good place to look."

They jumped to a rooftop and gave the city a wide berth. A few people below them gave odd looks, but again, the guards gave only half-interested looks. _A ninja must always be alert for anything! How can these guys be so calm and mellow? I would never let peace make me think like that._

"There, those look like warehouses." Naruto followed Sasuke's finger to a couple of shabby, but distinctly different looking buildings about five blocks down. Oddly enough, amongst them was their opposite: a gleaming, nicely polished white structure that stood out among the graying wood and concrete. "I'd have to say that it stands out the most."

"I think so," Sakura agreed. "Let's go in carefully, because I don't see to many people over there."

They jumped down and walked quickly through the streets. Naruto noted that the farther they went in the direction of the warehouses, the number of people was indeed thinning out. _It's almost like the people are being repelled from here, like magnet repulsion. But that doesn't make sense, because how do the merchants make a profit if they don't come over here to get their supplies from the mines? _The warehouses stood gloomily on either side, all entrances locked by iron chains. It was a foreboding presence, and eventually they became the only ones walking the streets of the warehouses.

Sasuke held out a hand. "What is it?" Sakura asked in a low tone. Naruto slowly drew out a kunai knife, expecting trouble.

"That big white building is around the corner, here," he said. "I can't make out the sign from here... let's go in close, we won't be doing any harm. Just make it nice and casual." They went around the corner of the building in a group of schoolchildren talking amongst each other, talking avidly about their latest lesson. Naruto turned his head slightly. The building was gated by pointed spikes, with the main entrance coming up on their walk. Behind the bars, he could see numerous men, obviously guards. But they were not the layed back, disinterested men they had seen in the city. They were straight backed, alert, watching the trio go by. And their uniform-

Naruto choked on some saliva in his mouth. The other two stopped, and Sakura got up close to him. "Are you okay?" she asked loudly. Her hair tickled his ear, and in a far quieter tone, she said, "I know, we see. Just keep going."

"Yeah... I'm fine." They passed by the large white building, and the front entrance's guards gave them steely eyes, the sun shining off their white uniform...

The same uniform as the ones that had attacked them in the inn.

They rounded the corner of another group of warehouses, and out of the corner of his eye, he got a perfect shot of a pair of guards further down on the ground of the embassy, standing by what looked like a secondary gate.

When they were certainly out of sight, Naruto said, "I think we know where we want to look for clues."

"The sign, did you get a look at it?" Sakura asked. "I was afraid I would make eye contact with one of the guards... or should I say, those terrorists that attacked us at the inn."

"That building is the Land of Ice's embassy here, so I doubt they're terrorists." Sasuke gave a cool breath. "I got a nice, slow motion look with my Sharingan. But I noticed something else. something that's got me really confused."

_If it's got Sasuke confused, then it's gotta be a problem. _"What was it?"

"I saw that all the guards were dressed in the same unfiform, the same ones as the guys that attacked us. But they're _not _the same ones; these guys at the embassy don't have that blue kunai knife and skull on their shoulder, but the ones at the inn did." He looked back at the embassy, his eyes narrowed. "There's definetly something different between the two, but we don't have enough intel to discern what it might be."

"And what a strange place for an embassy to," Sakura intoned. "Why in the middle of the storage district? Why not in the middle of the city, where they might actually receive citizens of their country? It doesn't make any logical sense."

Naruto smashed his left hand into the palm of his right, grabbing his teammate's attention. "Well we're not going to run back and grab Kakashi sensei, and we'll never find Dossen and his guys in the thick of the city. It's just us, and now it's up to us to try and answer these questions."

Sasuke gave a small smile. "I'm going to have to agree with you on that."

"Judging by the way the streets around here are empty, I'm going to guess the embassy doesn't like people around," Sakura threw in. "How do we get around that? I hardly think they'll allow us in through the front gate."

Naruto rubbed his chin mischievously. "If they don't like us going through the front, we'll take the back! I saw a side entrance."

"Good eyes," Sakura said cheeringly, but Sasuke's own flickered for a moment, as if his own eyes were being challenged. "But they'll be twice as suspicious over there. How do we get in?"

"Don't worry..." Naruto's eyes twinkled, the devious look still on his face, puzzling his friends. "I'm way ahead of you."

***: **Doto, ex-dictator of the Land of Snow; from the first Naruto movie "Journey to the Land of Snow"

****: **a "free city" is like a self-governed town, without a country officially ruling it. Look up 'Danzig,' an old free-city from WWII.


	4. S1 Chapter 4

XXX

**Naruto**

**Land of Tunnels, Concord Warehouse District**

There were only two men within sight as he rounded the warehouse corner. They stood right at the back gate, a lever to open the iron bars in between them. Stealthily, he applied chakra to his feet to quiet his footsteps. One slip up would ruin the whole plan, and then they would probably sound the alarm. And even Naruto knew that having Konoha-nin trespassing in an embassy wouldn't go over well.

But his concentration didn't break. They were standing quite still, looking back and forth across the street that ran in front of the gate. He took a breath, and applying the jutsu to his voice, he went around the corner.

"Oh, hey boys, didn't see you there."

It came out clumsily, and he could visualize Sasuke facepalming. However, the appearance clouded up anything he had just said. The Sexy-Jutsu was more than a simple tool in his arsenal; it was more deadly than a kunai.

The guards blinked, unable to believe their eyes for a moment Naruto had taken the precaution of keeping clothes on*****, but had taken great care to enhance his body structure. _No guy can resist, not even those statues._

The gate opened, and the two men walked forward, transfixed. Their composure was slipping. "Can we help you, miss?" one said. "You seem a little lost..."

He forced a laugh, walked up to them so that he stood right beneath the gate. "Oh, silly me, I thought this was the marketplace. Where is this?"

"The Land of Brea- Land of Ice's Embassy," said the other, who was definitely younger and weaker than his comrade. "But I- _we_\- would be more than happy to show you the way there..."

_Amazing how these guys would just leave their post like that! Then again, I doubt this was ever in their training program. _Internally, he grimaced. _But this is just weird, having to play along like this. Best to just get this over with. _He smiled outwardly. "Yeah, can you show me the way?" He held a smooth arm out for them, inviting them to grab it. Tentatively, the younger guard stretched out his hand to grab it-

Out of the corner of his eye, the older guard narrowed his eyes, and his left hand itched to his weapons pouch-

_Now! _He swung his outstretched arm over the younger guard's hand, striking him in the base of the neck. He made an odd gaging sound and raised his arms into a half- attempted combat position, but the damage was done. The guard crumpled silently to the ground.

The older guard made to jump back, finishing his arms decent and flipping out a kunai into his palm.. "Just as I thought, an intruder! You won't be getting in so easily." His feet left the ground, putting distance in between them.

"CHA!" Naruto winced as he heard the meaty connection of Sakura's fist greeting the older guard's skull, sending him straight to the ground like a released dumbbell. Her strength still brought him inner pain from memory; even seeing an enemy getting hit by her brought him sympathy.

She took a few breaths, letting her chakra steady. The guard breathed lightly on the ground at her feet. She looked at him and her face immeaditely turned sour. "Okay, you can release the jutsu now! Pig..."

He went red. "Oh, right." He undid the jutsu and in a puff of smoke, he was back in his orange jumpsuit, Konoha headband strapped securely around his forehead.

Sasuke flickered around the corner. "Quick, drag their bodies over here, out of sight. Naruto, create two shadow clones and transform them to look like the guards. We don't have a lot of time before a patrol arrives!"

They scurried about performing their duties, looking over this shoulders with paranoia to be sure they weren't being watched. But no figures appeared behind on the embassy's grounds; they had successfully snuck in and create an entry point. Naruto smiled to himself as he made the shadow clones. _I can't believe we just did the perfect stealth mission without Kakashi sensei's help! Our plan is going along smoothly, with no interruption or problem! I wish Lady Tsunade could see how well we're doing, to see that we _can _be a team._

After a few short minutes, two guards stood by the iron gate. Without expression, they turned the lever at the iron mouth closed, sealing off Concord from the Ice embassy once again.

Behind them, three genin snuck in the shadow of the embassy, looking to continue their mission.

XXX

**Sakura**

**Land of Tunnels, Concord's Land of Ice Embassy**

The structure was massive, easily four warehouse spaces taken for its construction. They had taken the liberty to make it much better than any of the surrounding warehouses by planting various trees and shrubs around, as well a nice green grass carpet.

They steered well clear of the main entrance, skimming alongside the walls and greenery to dodge past the dedicated patrols going around. _How can this place be an ivitation for citizens when there's so many guards around? And why so many, there's probably no crime at all here._

She shot a look at Sasuke, who was directing the team to go around the next bend with two waggling fingers. She and Naruto inched forward and peered around the corner.

There were several boxes and crates stacked carelessly next to the embassy. Right behind them was an open garage, that was filled with even more crates, though they were placed more delicately. No guards were around, and the last patrol had passed them just a few moments ago. The intervals between them was around two minutes, and that would be the time they would have to investigate this anomaly in what they had seen.

"I'll look forward and give a signal for when the next patrol comes around," Naruto whispered. "You and Sasuke see what's inside all of these boxes." He went ahead as they gave their nods of acknowledgement. They quickly but quietly ran up to a stack of boxes.

"Damn, they're sealed," Sasuke said quietly. "We can't risk opening them without the embassy knowing someone tampered with them."

"Quick, just look around for one that might be unopened! There could be something really important inside these, and we would never know." She did some quick math in her mind. "We have about seventy seconds left before the next patrol arrives. Let's move fast."

Their eyes and hands ran over the wooden storage, but they found none to willingly open. Whoever had been sealed them had done a thorough job; what was more, there was no indication as to where they might have even come from. No tags or stickers gave any word as to where they had come from. She guessed the same might go for the ones in the embassy's garage, so there was no point in checking there-

"They're coming!" Naruto hissed, sprinting lightly. "What do we do!"

They looked around, but their position was as bad as it could be. None of the crates were stacked high enough for adequate coverage, and if for whatever reason the guards decided to check around the crates, they would be caught.

"Into the garage," she whispered quickly, and they followed the pink kunoichi in the darkness. They felt around the rows of wooden containers, seeking to blend into the darkness or to hide behind them.

The guards walked by, looking into the garage for a moment, and then walking by. When she saw they had gone, she gave a sigh of relief and said, "Coast is clear. Let's get back to checking."

"It's pointless, Sakura, they've been sealed carefully," Sasuke said tightly. "Whoever is running the show here is being studious in hiding their tracks. We won't learn anything from sifting through these anymore. But, if I had to guess, I'd say they contain Hellfire Crystals."

She blinked, surprised at his observation. "What makes you think that?"

He gestured towards the looming warehouses. "The only place possible for these to have come from in such large number is in these warehouses, where the Crystals are being stored. The guards have scared off the merchants from collecting the Crystals to sell at the market, and are now taking it from the warehouses." He shrugged his shoulders at her incredulous look. "Well, what do you think would be so valuable that they're going through the effort of hiding it so thoroughly? The Crystals have vanished; this is the best insight we've gotten to where they might have gone."

"But remember what the report said? The Land of Ice is a mining country to. Why would they want to steal the Land of Tunnel's minerals when they already have some?"

Sasuke cocked a small smile. "That's what we're here to learn- wait, did you hear that?"

The guards were returning from the earlier patrol, their footsteps swift across the grass. What was more, another patrol was coming across the normal route. _What could be drawing them back? Did they see something in the garage earlier?_

Naruto's face suddenly peered through the darkness, small knots of exhaustion on his face. "Guys, I lost control of the jutsu in our rush into here; the shadow clone guards aren't there; they must think something's wrong."

Sasuke gave a grunt of exasperation, but Naruto quickly followed up with, "But I found a way into the embassy, and it's an office that's completely empty. We're gonna have to sneak in and hide there; the guards won't think to look because there's a lock, but some idiot forgot to actually use it."

The trio of genin tip-toed over to the door Naruto had found. Sure enough, she saw it was an empty office. _Lucky us. _They slipped inside and Naruto quietly set the lock just as they heard the first guards entering the garage.

"Kalstar? Biruko? Are you in here?"

"Where the devil could they have gone, leaving their post like that!"

The footsteps reached the door, and to their horror, a hand rapped on it. "Hey, you idiots in here? Or Page, you back from your break yet?" They watched in stupefied fascination as the handle turned back and forth. "Damn it, are you in there? Davis, give me the key to the door."

"There's no point, Page knows to open the door from us, you know that. He's already terrified that the Captain will kill him after that accounting mix-up, so he wouldn't keep us waiting." Beside them, Sasuke suddenly flinched in alarm, causing the other two to also react violently. Luckily, they didn't hit anything, making their spasms silent to their searchers.

There was a harsh laugh, and the handle relaxed. "Yeah, I definitely wouldn't mess with the Captain either. But where could those two gone?"

"We'll keep looking, they've probably gotten distracted by some woman..." Their forces trailed off, signifying their exit. Sakura realized she'd been holding her breath in fear, and she exhaled. She turned to Sasuke questioningly. "What made you jump?"

"I recognized their voices," he said through gritted teeth. "They're the ones that attacked us at the inn. I can tell by the way that one said 'you'... he has a strange accent, the same he used when he told me I was..." His face was set in stone. "That's unimportant; but if those guys are around, this just got much more serious. They might not know we're in the city yet, but they do know we're on a mission to the Land of Ice. If they figure out it's us, we could compromise the entire mission if they know it's us and they tell this 'Captain' of theirs."

Sasuke emotions were very vibrant, the hatred she was seeing much more frequently showing. Whatever they had said to Sasuke, it had hit deep. However, she forced herself to think of the mission. "All the more reason to stay hidden. But where are we?"

They stood up. "They said it was some guy called Page's office," Naruto said quietly. "He's on break, so for now we're safe."

"They also said he made an accounting error," Sakura remembered. "He's probably a secretary here! And look at all these documents on his desk!"

Naruto frowned. "I hate reading."

She rolled her eyes at him. "Fine, listen for if this guy comes back. Me and Sasuke will look through them all." She and her teammate bent over the desk and began sifting through the papers again, just like the crates. But just like their search outside, they were coming up dry.

"I'm still not finding anything valuable!" Sasuke seethed, throwing a document back onto the table in frustration. "Our theories are useless if we can't get any proof for them!"

She looked at him with concern. His anger was really showing, his darker side. It was disturbing, but the fact that he bore that hateful Curse Mark made it worse. "Stay calm, we can still find something."

Naruto turned around. "Did you guys find anything yet?"

She sighed. "Not yet."

He walked up to the desk pointed a finger. "Hey what about that? Did you look at that?" She followed his finger, to where a thin folder containing three papers was tightly packed beneath a bunch of other folders and papers. What made it stand out was a large red **HMC **stamped onto the corner, just peaking out beneath the mess. She snatched it out from under the pile and opened.

"Halloware Mining Corporation... they're the main mining group around here-"

Voices from outside the door into the embassy. "Oh, go to hell, I'm back aren't I?' came an annoyed reply to someone in the embassy. "Yeah, screw you to, Michealson." The door handle turned, the wooden wall opened. A thin, meek-looking man walked in, whistling to himself.A nametag with 'Page' blossomed on the front of his shirt. He shut the door behind him, eye closed and muttered, "Last time I take any of their crap, I've had enough-"

Sasuke wasted no time but bolted forward, his immense speed shown into the nanosecond it took to cross the room. Page gave a small yelp of surprise before Sauske took him out cold with a single punch to the temple. Page crashed against the door, then keeled over. The Uchiha caught his collapsing body, muffling the sound.

"Great job, Sasuke," she exclaimed. "Just stuff him off to the side, and let me memorize this document."

They nodded, but the words had hardly left her mouth when footsteps and another voice came down the hall. "Damnit, Page, you left your identification card again."

Now it was Naruto's turn to act. He crossed his fingers and shit his eyes. In a puff of smoke, he had transformed into Page. He beckoned the other two to behind the desk, and he opened the door.

"Oh, thanks, I'll take that."

"What was that noise?"

"Oh, something fell. You know, clumsy me." He gave a believable laugh.

"What fell, your balls?" The other man roared with laughter and went back down the hall. Naruto returned and shut the door.

"These guys really don't like Page," he said glumly. "Poor guy."

Sasuke gave a sigh. "We can't risk staying here. Naruto can't improvise that well, especially if it's more than one guy. Eventually, he'll give something away. We have to leave before we're exposed."

Sakura smacked the paper. "But we just found this! This is where the Hellfire Crystals are coming from, this is our first major clue! We can't overlook this."

"It won't matter if we're caught. Stop being reckless-"

Naruto coughed loudly, getting their attention. "I can create a diversion at the embassy. That will give Sakura time to memorize what she can from the documents, and then offer you enough time to escape. It's our only option," he said sharply as Sasuke opened his mouth. "I don't have much use locked in here with you guys; you're right, it'll be a disaster if we're caught. However, if they find _me, _and only me, they won't think there we're others. They'll think the information will have died with me, while you guys escape with the actual intel."

"Don't be noble," Sasuke snarled. "I'll do the distraction-"

"And if you guys are caught, you're the best defender. You need to protect Sakura, no matter what. Not just as a teammate, but as the object of success of our mission."

Sasuke looked away, his eyes furious. Facing away from them both, he finally ground out, "Alright. How much time can you offer us?"

"Five minutes total. And don't worry, I plan on escaping to."

Sasuke looked back, and in his eyes Sakura saw a mixture of emotions, amongst them that _cold _hatred and mocking gratitude the most prominent. "That's good, because I won't the satisfaction of beating you up myself."

Naruto, who obviously lacked such keen observation skills, flashed a smile through his disguise as Page. "And me too." He opened the door and left without another word, shutting it quietly. They heard his footsteps fade, until Sasuke suddenly whirled to her.

"So? Get memorizing!"

She nodded once, her eyes running over the document. Paragraphs, charts, quotas and general information. Page had made several "X's" and other markings on various points, but she couldn't decipher their meanings from the limited time she had. Sasuke's loud pacing did not help her concentration.

She turned to the last page, and she immediately focused on a tightly made circle around a cluster of words. _Operation Icefire... that hardly sounds related to mining. _She skimmed through the paragraph around it, but it was unyielding. The only important bit she could connect to it was an arrow pointing to the name, where Page had written: _"Shipment delayed, operation delayed. Production doubled to continue schedule- date 4/3Thursday."_

Everything else was garbage or economic details that were unimportant. She looked at Sauske, "Time to go, I've learned all we can."

Sasuke undid the lock, and they entered the darkness of the garage. Guards were running past the garage in the direction of the main entrance, looks of puzzlement lining their hardened faces. When the coast was clear, they darted back around to the rear entrance, which was again, completely unguarded.

_Naruto, please alright._

XXX

**Naruto**

**Land of Tunnels, Concord's Land of Ice Embassy**

He had been picked on for many, many years as he grew up, for reasons he was both aware of and unaware of. He had confronted his darker side when he battled Gaara, and had proven the path he had chosen was stronger: one of truth and fighting for others. Page, despite his possible allegiance to the enemy, was still a hapless victim caught in pain and humiliation, just like Naruto had been.

He smiled to himself while under Page's guise. _Two birds, one stone. Distraction and retribution._

Naruto followed the hallway down and through into the lobby. Through glass doors, he could see the main gate that led back into the warehouse district. The exit was so close, but he knew he couldn't just leave, not when the actual Page had just returned from his break.

_Five minutes. That's what I promised Sakura and Sasuke. _

"Hey." He walked up and placed his elbow on the receptionists desk, a young blonde woman who gave him a confused stare. The man who had given him his identification card stood off to the side, talking to two colleagues.

"Um... can I help you, Page?' the receptionist asked.

"Yeah, I was wondering if you'd like to go out on a date?"

It was obvious by her reaction Page had asked this several times before, and failed. She smirked and replied, "I think we've been over this before, Page. You shouldn't be asking for a fourth time."

Naruto put on his cockiest smile. "But can't you see we're meant to be? You're more beautiful than the stars on a cloudless night, than the red sun as it goes behind the mountains to sleep, than the shimmering blue lake, than the most vibrant red rose, than..."

With each phrase, the receptionist's face grew redder and redder, and her jaw dropped more and more. In truth, he was drawing on both the "teachings" of his teacher, Jiraiya sensei, as well as what he thought of when he looked at Sakura**** **and what he wished he could tell her. The receptionist had clearly never been confronted by such a confident and well spoken Page, and simply took in his words.

The ID giver had begun to hear his spout, and with a laugh, said, "Trying again, Page? You're just a serious stubborn bastard, aren't you? Just couldn't give up on her?" His friends chuckled while he openly laughed at his own joke, eyes squeezed shut.

Naruto walked right up to Page's oppressor so that when the latter opened his eyes, it was as if Naruto had teleported. "And if I was?" Naruto inquired in Page's voice. "What would you do?"

"Hey, Page is actually looking to defend himself! You really got no brains!" the man looked to his friends for some support, but they had stepped back, either impressed or surprised by the new Page.

"You've been pushing me around for a while, and I think I've had enough," Naruto said calmly but firmly. "Let's get back to work instead of wasting your time fussing over a grown man."

The man made a sudden movement as if to attack, and Naruto responded by crashing his fist into Page's oppressor's stomach. He yelled and went flying and smashed through the glass doors, coating the lobby and the man himself in what looked like frosting. The fallen worker raised his head feebly, then fell back, defeated. Further back, by the main gate, the guards were staring wide-eyes at the newly awakened Page.

Naruto walked to the shattered glass doors and made to leave, but turned his head and flashed the receptionist a wink. "Talk to me tomorrow about that date."

She gave a dazed nod. Naruto left easily, strolled right up to the main gate. The guards moved uncertainly, but Naruto gave them a mild look that still suggested they back down. They did so, and he said out loud, "Think I need the day off... catch you guys later."

Nobody stopped the new Page. Naruto rounded the warehouse corner and allowed himself a victorious laugh. _That was more than enough time for them to escape. That was a fun side-track, but time to return to the mission._

XXX

*****: you know how the Sexy Jutsu normally goes, but I have retained some decency.

******: I'm not a fan of pairings; this follows the path of the anime as much as possible. As you know, Naruto likes Sakura in the anime. DON'T HATE ME FOR PAIRINGS


	5. S1 Chapter 5

**Sasuke**

**Land of Tunnels, Concord Warehouse District**

They waited for Naruto for just a few minutes a few blocks south of the embassy. He came back in his normal form, orange jacket and all. He saw that his left hand's knuckles were slightly raw, from having no doubt delivered a ferocious punch. He gave a grudging nod towards the blonde. "Nice diversion, you distracted pretty much all the guards to the main entrance."

Naruto flashed a confident smile. "Good! I think I did that poor guy Page some favors to; he'll definitely be better off now."

He nodded, turned to Sakura. "What did you learn, Sakura? I know you didn't have a lot of time, but that document seemed to be very valuable."

She gave a shrug that sent disappointment through him. Her words sealed his thoughts. "I got the name of the main mining company here: Halloware Mining Corporation. The only important connection I can make is why a foreign company is working closely with the Land of Ice."

Sasuke gritted his teeth. _Worthless information. A merchant could have told us all this garbage. _"Great job," he said sarcastically. "Let's go tell Kakashi that we found out the name of the only damn corporation in this country. That's a very useful way for us to have spent our time, risking everything in that embassy."

Her eyes filled with hurt, but anger intimidated what little compassion he had into a small corner. He looked away and subconsciously felt the Mark on his neck. He felt Naruto glaring at him, but no reproach left the little fool's mouth, much to his satisfaction.

"Sakura, did you learn anything else?" Naruto asked lightly instead.

"Yes, there was something else."

Sasuke turned his head to look back at his possibly useful teammates, but he didn't say anything.

"There was some sort of operation Halloware had listed that Page had made some strange notes about a 'late shipment'. It didn't mention Hellfire Crystals, but judging by the crates we saw in the garage, it makes sense Halloware must be shipping the Crystals to the embassy. This theory means that the Land of Ice is taking away the Hellfire Crystals from the Land of Tunnels through the mining corporation-"

"This _theory_. You mean we still don't have any solid proof." Sasuke turned again and looked at them both incredulously. "We can't accuse an entire _country _of economic warfare on just a theory with virtually no proof. We didn't get fit any more pieces into the jigsaw puzzle; if anything we've scrambled what we already had put in."

Naruto stepped into the gap between Sasuke and Sakura, his face stern. "We did what we could, and we got some information. Let's be grateful we got out alright."

Sasuke threw up his hands. "There you go, being so stuck to the ninja code. You should have bought us more time to get more information. You said you would be a diversion? Well, sometimes a diversion has to be a sacrifice."

Naruto blinked in surprise. "You're saying I should've stayed until I died, so Sakura could have memorized information that might not have even been there?"

"A mission is about success. If a member is lost in the process of completion, then they died for a good cause."

"That's sick; how can you place human life over a mission?"

"Sasuke, stop," Sakura said suddenly. "You wouldn't be talking like this if you weren't touching that tattoo." But Sasuke was in full swing. The Curse Mark was hurting brilliantly, and he loved it.

"One moment you're speaking out of the shinobi code, and the next you're going against it? You're just a joke of a shinobi who uses that code only to when he wants it-"

"That's not true!" Naruto snarled.

Sasuke cocked a mocking eyebrow. "Oh? Prove it, loser- what-?"

He stumbled forward as a pair of arms embraced him from behind, pushing him forwards unexpectedly. He trailed them back to to their owner. Sakura had come up behind him, without any stealth; he had been so enthralled in his argument with Naruto he had simply not noticed her moving. It was just like when he had unleashed the Curse Mark for the first time in the Forest of Death, and Sakura's caring embrace had removed that anger.

Just like it did now. He felt the Curse Mark burn in rage, but it's strength was again fading. She pressed her head to his back, and e could _feel _her warm intentions. He stood there silently a moment, then gently but firmly pushed her away. "I'm fine." He glaned at Naruto's impassive face. "Sorry," he said shortly."

Naruto unknotted his features, some warmth returning. "It's alright..."

_This power from the Curse Mark feeds off of my darker emotions, anger and rage and fear. It just grows more prominent as time goes on. But it seems that warm thoughts, like Sakura's, cool it down. _He mused about this, not looking at the others, though he could feel their worried gaze on him. His darker feelings had been showing more recently. The reappearance of their attacker from the inn, the one that had called him weak, it was like a lever turning on the factory for revenge.

He had lied. It was not the accent he found memorable. It was how similar his words had been to Itachi's farewell speech.

"What was the name of the operation, Sakura?" Naruto said into his thoughts.

"It was called Operation Icefire. Have either of you heard of it."

Sasuke had enough sense to reply alongside Naruto. "No."

"Who might know, Kakashi?"

"Kakashi will still be busy, I'm sure," Sasuke said flatly. "You know how he can get sidetracked sometimes, too. If we want answers now, we might need another source."

Naruto smiled. "I think I know who can help."

XXX

**Sakura**

**Land of Tunnels, Concord Market District**

They were truly left with no other option. Kakashi was nowhere to be found and they had no idea of where to look for him. But Dossen and his team were still in the marketplace, having spent perhaps two hours of just casual observance. She grimaced when she saw them. _Sasuke and Kakashi sensei are right. There is just something strange about them, and we can't figure out what. But they're the only ones who might be able to give us some answers._

They saw their approach and went over to see them. "How have you guys been enjoying vacation?" Sujo asked, his mouth full of some sort of sushi.

"Hardly been a vacation," Naruto replied, puffin his chest out importantly. "We have some big news-"

Sasuke elbowed Naruto in the gut, immediately silencing him. Sakura understood it: Sasuke didn't want Dossen finding out they had gone into the embassy unless it was absolutely necessary. Letting them know they had gone on a raid like that would leave some hard questions behind.

"What Naruto means to say is that we found cornered a suspect and dragged some information out of him," Sasuke said bluntly. "But not all of it makes sense; we need some more opinions."

Dossen folded his arms and eyed them, losing his relaxed state, something Sakura noted had not happened before. "And? What sort of information?"

"Sakura, tell them."

She took a breath, thought about how to word her questions to avoid giving away any hints about the embassy. "What do you guys know about Halloware Mining Corporation?"

Kagari rubbed the back of his neck, apparently deep in thought. "Just that they're the biggest mining group in this country; they're responsible for most of the Hellfire Crystals beings produced here."

"And they're privately owned," Dossen added. "No public shares; all family-controlled."

_Pretty useless information, I could have found that out from a local, _she thought to herself. "Do they have any workings in the Land of Ice?"

"They used to, but they pulled everything out during the last civil war-"

"Civil war?" Naruto injected, confused. "When was that?"

Dossen laughed. "How have you guys not been briefed on this stuff? I'm starting to think we were more qualified if we came here on our own-"

"We don't need comments on our effectiveness," Sasuke said angrily. "Just give us the answers, so we can work to finishing this mission."

Sujo held up his hands in mock fear. "Easy there, Uchiha. It's not like we're world encylcopedia's here, we don't know a lot either-"

"Then how is it," Sasuke continued dangerously, "That you say we're underequipped in knowledge, and yet you can't answer our questions with any worthwhile answer?"

Dossen stepped forward, his calm tone vanishing. "I think you're losing your place, Sasuke," he said quietly. "We're all on the same team, aren't we? No reason to be so hostile... unless there's something you would like to say that would make this cooperative mission less friendly."

Naruto stepped in between them. "Stop! We're all from the same village and on the same mission for the same objective! Just shut up and let's work this out like teammates!"

The Leaf chunin immediately backed down and resumed composure. "Right, right. My mistake. Just ask what you need to know and we'll answer to the best of our capabilities."

"The civil war," Sakura prodded. "What was it about?"

"Alright, but I'll need to start earlier, back at the Third Shinobi War. It was particularly bloodthirsty and warlike," Dossen said. "The nations capabilities in military terms were pretty devastating, but it wasn't enough for some. Mercenaries were hired by both sides to overcome the other side. Quite quickly, a specific mercenary type became favored: those wielding kekkai genkai."

Sakura gasped. "The bloodline trait! Only those born with the ability can use it."

"Right. These mercenaries were especially dangerous, because their types of jutsu could not be normally blocked or handled tactically: they were brutal, often unstoppable shinobi. The people, the average citizens, living in the front lines of these wars suffered worse, because the mercenaries lacked proper shinobi etiquette: whole villages were destroyed simply out of whim."

"How cruel could these guys be," Naruto said angrily, his hands curling into fists. "it gets me angry just thinking about it."

"The people of the Ice Clan were one of these mercenary groups. Originally, they were just a single, warlike village that wandered the land. When the War erupted, they pounced on the ability to exercise their warlust; and get paid for it. However, when the war ended, and the crimes of these mercenaries were revealed, the entire continent was in uproar against those with any kekkai genkai. The people of the Land of Ice were scattered from hunters and internal conflict for several years." Dossen looked at Naruto with calculating eyes. "In fact, I've heard you've already met one, much earlier in the past."

_What? Who could he be talking about?_

"Haku?" Naruto ventured. "He used some ice-style kekkai genkai..."

"A refugee of his clan," Dossen confirmed. "From the report Kakashi made, you have an idea on just how dangerous they can be."

Sasuke tugged at his collar uncomfortably. "And we also had the pleasure of the meeting the guys from the Inn. If they're all like Haku or those men, they're very strong shinobi, indeed."

Sujo nodded. "The clan reunited around eight years ago, and there was a big civil war for territory, leadership, and how to proceed as a nation. In the end, a peaceful opposition group took control; the country is now run by a man called Danglar. He has been the prime target for various assassinations, as he is pro-peace, which is very contradictory to their previous war-traditions."

"Well that's an important piece of the puzzle we now know," Naruto affirmed. "I think that covers it, let's find Kakashi sensei-"

"Wait, Naruto," Sakura said haltingly. She turned to Dossen and his team. "Does the phrase 'Operation Icefire' mean anything to you?"

Their reactions were mirrored: shock quickly replaced by veil of secrecy. Dossen focused his attention on her, and she felt as if she were suddenly about to be interrogated. "Where did you hear of something like that?" he said. It was not a question, but rather a demand. "No 'suspect' would have information like that."

"Why, what is it?" Sasuke challenged.

The three chunin exchanged dark looks, as if they communicated only by blinks of the eyes. Dosen turned back to face them. "Operation Icefire is a retired battle strategy that was to be utilized should the Land of Water and Land of Earth made a conjoined attack on Konoha," Dossen said breezily. "We were just surprised someone outside of Konoha's higher branch could have knowledge of it. But at the same time, the strategy is useless now, a forgotten tool."

Sasuke cocked an eyebrow. "Higher branch? You're just chunin."

Dossen's eyes flashed, he opened his mouth to retort-

"Well, how did it go everyone?" Kakashi asked as he jumped down towards them. He was looking slightly windswept and agitated, but otherwise his persona was warm. Sasuke took one look at Kakashi and immeaditaly backed down, subsiding into a frustrated look that nevertheless showed he was processing all of Dossen's information.

_But something doesn't seem right about Dossen's explanation of Icefire. Why would the Land of Ice, and moreover a mining company, have any use for retired battle plans? Something tells me Dossen's feeding us lies on that part. _She glanced at the chunin out of the corner of his eye while he spoke to Kakashi sensei. _But we can't call him out right in front of him. because as much as I hate it, Naruto was right: we can't risk dividing a team in the middle of a mission._

Kakashi sensei was done talking with Dossen, and now he turned towards them. "And what did you guys learn? Anything useful?" His eyes glittered with hidden wording. _What did you learn about the Crystals?_

"Nothing to useful," Sasuke said heavily. "There's nothing concrete, but we have reasonable suspicion that Holloware Mining Corporation has something to do with hiding away the Hellfire Crystals."

Their sensei looked slightly disappointed, but he nodded all the same. "Good work. Now, I have our next location." He pulled out a crumpled piece of parchment, in which there was some scribbled directions. Sakura saw in the top corner there was a single name: BREMEN.

"Who's Bremen?" Naruto asked for her.

"He is to be our guide into the Land of Ice," Kakashi said while Dossen's team mulled over the directions and the map. "We'll be going straight into Land of Ice from here. This Bremen fellow will navigate us in and through the land to the capital."

Sasuke leaned back, resting against some barrels. "And what do we do when we get to the capital."

Kakashi shrugged. "Whatever they want us to do, our objective is to solve where the Hellfire Crystals are being sent to; while under their orders. That means _no _free-roaming." He gave Naruto a severely critical eye, to which Naruto's face contorted.

"Hey, what's that supposed to mean!"

"It means that you often have a hard time just following simple orders, and instead you do wild things that jeopardize the mission."

"Since when?"

Sasuke closed his eyes. "Don't try to fight it, Naruto. You know Kakashi's right."

"Oh, great backup Sasuke."

"I did my best."

"You didn't do squat! You only agreed with him!"

"When it comes to saying you're an idiot, agreeing _is _the best thing I do."

_Why can't Team 7 always be like this... when we all had our little arguments and could make up in an instant. Where have the times gone, where by tomorrow we'll be back to splitting apart..._

She felt her heart ache slightly as her eyes turned to Sasuke. _Just like my heart is splitting with every thought of us one day coming together._

"Alright, guys, let's roll out!" Dossen said, his façade returning. "We got a day's journey ahead of us, so let's outrun the Sun so we can arrive with some light!"

Kakashi nodded, slapping his two students on their heads. "Look alive, we're leaving friendly territory now."

"Now, we go into the heart of the enemy."


End file.
